Uber Technologies saw its shares leap 8.7% in premarket trading on Wednesday, following a first-quarter 2026 earnings report that handily beat analyst expectations and came with an upbeat forward outlook. The ride-hailing and delivery giant posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.72, beating the $0.69 consensus estimate. Revenue climbed 14% year-over-year to $13.2 billion, falling just short of the $13.28 billion Wall Street had modeled, but that miss was overshadowed by surging gross bookings and user growth.
The standout metric was gross bookings, which jumped 25% YoY (21% on a constant currency basis) to $53.7 billion, surpassing the expected $52.8 billion. Trips grew 20% to 3.64 billion, while monthly active platform consumers rose 17%, reflecting broad-based demand across both Mobility and Delivery segments in all regions. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted that the strong performance came despite a challenging macro backdrop marked by geopolitical tensions, higher gas prices, and adverse weather.
Net income told a different story, falling to $263 million ($0.13 per share) from $1.78 billion a year ago, primarily due to a $1.5 billion headwind from revaluation of equity investments. Still, the core business demonstrated resilience. Uber Freight returned to growth for the first time in nearly two years, removing a persistent drag. On the technology front, the company launched an AI assistant for drivers and announced 10 new or expanded autonomous vehicle partnerships during the quarter, including Waymo, WeRide, Waabi, Wayve, Rivian, and Nuro. Internally, 95% of engineers are now using AI coding tools monthly, with over 10% of code generated autonomously.
For the second quarter, Uber guided adjusted earnings of $0.78 to $0.82 per share, with gross bookings forecast between $56.25 billion and $57.75 billion—both above analyst projections. The outlook signals continued momentum, supported by stable pricing, expansion into higher-margin segments, and growing international delivery markets such as Australia and Denmark. UBER stock had been down about 11% year-to-date before the report, making the post-earnings pop a welcome relief for investors.
